But while organizing legal paperwork dealing with their deaths, the couple discovered their marriage was never legal.

They made the discovery after reading a story in The Wall Street Journal that said without a marriage license, one spouse could not collect the other's Social Security benefits.

So the couple tried to get a copy of their marriage certificate sent to their Redlands home.

They sent $20 to the San Mateo County Hall of Records to retrieve it, but there was no record of their Aug. 29, 1964, ceremony.

"They went back to the year 1956, but no record of our marriage could be found," Bob Clark said. "So we called the church we were married in and asked if they had a copy. They said, `Oh, yes, we have a copy.' So we called the (records office) back and asked if we could record it now."'

Marriage certificates have to be filed within two years of the ceremony, the Clarks learned, and they would now have to register their wedding in San Bernardino County to make their marriage legal.

So the Clarks set out to do just that.

But to do so, they needed two witnesses who were at their 1964 wedding. And with Thanksgiving within a week of the discovery, that was no problem - several family members who were at the ceremony were coming to town.

With only days to prepare, the Clarks asked Norma's sister, Deanna Silvestri, and her brother, Bill Thrall, to be their new witnesses. The two were Norma's maid of honor and the couple's junior usher at the original wedding.

The Clarks had a 10 a.m. appointment on Nov. 21 to file their certificate at the county Hall of Records on San Bernardino's Hospitality Lane.

And they came prepared.

"I got her a nice bouquet, and it was just a hoot," Bob said. "There were about 35 people there who were asking us why we were there. We told them that we've been married...and we brought along a book of all our pictures and showed them (off)."

After the filing was finished, making the marriage legal, one man in the crowd called out to the Clarks and told Bob to kiss his bride.